Anyone with palmar HH ever do a musical exam or performance?

Hi, I'm Mike.. new to this forum! I was searching through the old posts, and HHzap started a thread back in 2007 about musicians with palmar HH and the ways in which it affects their playing.

I am a classical guitar student and also a teacher and I have hyperhidrosis of the hands and feet. My feet are worse than my hands but my hands are pretty bad. And right now I don't even care about the feet, the only thing I'm worried about is I have my Grade 8 RCM exam coming up and I am afraid that my palmar HH is going to affect my playing and I'll end up with a shitty mark!

I have never taken an RCM exam before, it's my first one. I don't even want to take it, but it's kind of like a personal goal of mine, and plus it will look good on my resume.

I have a Fischer MD-1a iontho machine, but it doesn't really work as well as I hoped. I pretty much have to use it ALL THE TIME for it to be effective. Like I do it 10 40-min sessions (spaced out 2 to 3 days apart) with a teaspoon of baking soda in each tray, and then at the end of the 10th session, my hands and feet will start to sweat again after 3 days! So I have to use it every 2 to 3 days indefinitely.

I am planning to restart the iontho sessions and then coordinate the iontho sessions so that the 10th session is right before my exam date, but is there anything else I could do to help my palmar HH?

Has anyone in this forum ever taken an exam for piano, violin, etc? I booked it for November, so that it will be cold weather. Should I ask them if I can bring a portable desk fan or something? They'd think I was nuts, but at least I could play with dry hands.

Any suggestions would be appreciated, but I don't want to swallow any pills. No meds.

Thanks for reading!

hey man i'm a guitarist too with hh. you just gotta do it. if you are ready then you are ready then do it. Heck, when my hands are sweating a lot while I'm playing that means they're getting a good workout.

Believe me I know how much tougher it is to play with hh, I go through strings every 2 days because I sweat so much when I play. But I dont let it stop me. Don't let it stop you!

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I went through RCM exams (piano and violin) with PalmarHH, before even realizing the condition may be treatable.

Imagine your fingers reach for one or more of the black (raised) keys on the piano, and your fingers easily slip off it.

Or imagine shifting positions on the violin, and each time the "correct motion" of accurately shifting is different, because it depends on how much sweat you have on your hands during each different shift.

So don't worry about it.

I'm now looking to treat it though...

Im a musician, i play a variety of instruments, bass sax, piano etc im also a sound tech and sound designer, i also have a small recoring studio and work as a roadie.
To be honest I have HH axillary and palmar ive had an op though and things have improved but, i never really put down HH to having problems with music i usually covered up when i played and worn a cardy hoodie thing or a smart top.
hand wise yes it makes a difference but i just stumbled my way through it all and got the job done. I dont let this get in my way as music is my life ive been studying and writing since 6, im 28 now, got a degree in it as well.
without music ild fine HH to get the better of me becuse it is the only way in which i express my self. when im down i write music and i create the best.

Ive done all the exams and was sweaty throughout but that was then this is now and tough to be honest i paassed with destinctions

shouldnt let HH get in the way of anything as embaressing as it is.

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HHzapp said:

We should make up some community or forum for musicians in need of help who have HH... y'know like we could give each other tips on how to use wet hands to our advantage? e.g. like sliding from fret to fret on guitar?? Like 'cause, obviously you can't do that if your hands are bone dry. Just an idea... I think it'd boost people's confidence to know they're not the only ones out there, lol. Oh yeah and it could help people who are convincing themselves that they should give up on music and stuff... 'cause I mean, I went through that...

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You're right... Before I stumbled on these forums, I always thought I am the only one, among my fellow students anyway

Hi dpr/Mike

I have alwayes liked to learn how to play gitar,I have tried but it has ended up whit throwing it in the wall or something like that.
I am more a sportsman,soccer is my thing

Anyway there was a lot of good tips from the other guys here,but I would have more focus to make the ionto to work proberly.

I have idrostar (ionto).For me it takes about 13-14 treatments then I was 90-85 dry on my hands feet.But I found out that I had to take 1 treatment every week (wednesday for me) and stick with it no matter what.Dont skip 1 treatment.

You use baking soda.....So another thing I have read is that the water can be to soft or the reason why it doesnt work as good..I dont know the best formel for the wather,but maby you could try to buy some water and start all over again.

I did not get rid of my sweating on my fingertips,but I bought something called dehydral cream,.And it works for me.

I used it only on my fingertips before going to bed 4-5 nights the first week,now it is enough whit 1-2 times a week.

Just a tip. Mayby it works mayby it dont.That is very funny about us different HH sufferes,something that work for one guy,dont work for the other.Like ETS operation some getS better but MANY GETS WORSE.
(I PERSONELY WILL STAY AWAY FROM ETS)

Just have to try out things for your self.

Good luck whit the gitarplaying anyway

klamm, how long do u do it on each polarity and how many miliamps?

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Hi Hinder87

I do 10 minuts on each polarity and start whit 10mA and the ionto goes up to 13mA by itself at the end of the 10 minuts,then switch polarity and take 10 minuts more .Then one side is finnish (hand/foot).
I never take more then 13mA.

So 20 minuts on 1 side and 20 minuts on the other side toghether.I treat both hand and feet at the same time.(40 min for the whole treatment both hands/feet)

Another thing I dont know if it makes any difference but I always have the black wire (negativ) on my foot tray.It works for me this way so I dont change anything.

When I first started iontotreatments 1 1/2 years ago I took 21mA and that didnt work as great as 10-13mA do know.

I tought the higher mA the better results (logical,but it was the opposite for me.10-13mA is the perfect mA for me.

Hope this answered your question.

I can remember when I was still in grade school and there was a flute exhibition and I'm involved in the orchestra. I'm unfortunately in the front row and at my right are the principal, monsignor, guidance counselor and anyone in high positions. When the music played, I played my metal flute and in my shock I can see most of the people at my right staring at me. I am so embarrassed and wished I was gone at that very minute. Sweat is uncontrollable and it drips a lot. I can say that is one of my painful experiences in grade school.

HHzapp said:

As for iontopherosis, I do that aswell and I use the Idrostar. I've stopped using it for now just to see if it was really working and my sweating came back so I'm guessing it helped... I also use Dehydral Cream which seems to be working for me, but when I leave it on overnight I have to put plastic gloves on so that it doesn't rub off.

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Thanks to everyone for the replies.

Yeah, it's not that I'm really embarassed by my excessive sweating, I've kind of gotten over that. It's just that it really affects my playing. I can play much better with a fan on me, and switch faster and more accurately.

My HH is weird too, because it's not any worse when I am nervous. It's not like an anxious situation will make my sweat, I just sweat all the time, non-stop. Right now, I am sitting in my house, all alone, typing this, and my hands and feet are sweating buckets.

But yeah, I'm still doing the ionto machine, I have a fischer one.

Are there any side effects from the dehydral cream? I think I may try that stuff. Can you get it in Canada?

scruffpot said:

Ive done all the exams and was sweaty throughout but that was then this is now and tough to be honest i paassed with destinctions

shouldnt let HH get in the way of anything as embaressing as it is.

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True dat... I'm not gonna let it stop me.

Did you experience any compensatory sweating after your operation?

HHzapp said:

We should make up some community or forum for musicians in need of help who have HH... y'know like we could give each other tips on how to use wet hands to our advantage? e.g. like sliding from fret to fret on guitar?? Like 'cause, obviously you can't do that if your hands are bone dry. Just an idea... I think it'd boost people's confidence to know they're not the only ones out there, lol. Oh yeah and it could help people who are convincing themselves that they should give up on music and stuff... 'cause I mean, I went through that...

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That's a good idea!

Right now I don't really have any tips for guitar playing, except that in the winter I practice with the window open so my hands stay dry. Of course, the rest of me is freezing, but at least I can practice with semi-dry hands.

klamm76 said:

Just a tip. Mayby it works mayby it dont.That is very funny about us different HH sufferes,something that work for one guy,dont work for the other.Like ETS operation some getS better but MANY GETS WORSE.
(I PERSONELY WILL STAY AWAY FROM ETS)

Just have to try out things for your self.

Good luck whit the gitarplaying anyway

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Hey klamm, thanks for the reply. Did you experience any side effects using the Dehydral cream? I think I may try it.

Yeah, I don't think I will ever have the balls to do the ETS surgery, the potential side effects scare me (CS, horner's syndrome, etc.)

And I don't like the idea of taking pills. Makes me feel like an old man. lol... So for now it looks like I have to make do with iontophoresis and maybe try that dehydral stuff.

Hi again.

No I dont get any side-effects from this (that I am aware off anyway

I only use it on my finger tips,and they are almost always dry now.

Only thing I heard of is that people that have used dehydral-cream on their whole hands has gotten a bit yellow in their hands.
I havent notice any yeallow in my fingertips.

And yes I think that you can only get dehydral-cream from Canada.

Here is a link where I ordered it from
http://www.canadadrugs.com/otc/product/Dehydral+Cream/3061/

klamm76 said:

Hi again.

No I dont get any side-effects from this (that I am aware off anyway

I only use it on my finger tips,and they are almost always dry now.

Only thing I heard of is that people that have used dehydral-cream on their whole hands has gotten a bit yellow in their hands.
I havent notice any yeallow in my fingertips.

And yes I think that you can only get dehydral-cream from Canada.

Here is a link where I ordered it from
http://www.canadadrugs.com/otc/product/Dehydral+Cream/3061/

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Seriously, as long as my hands are dry, I could care less about the yellowing skin. I've heard this can be used for feet too, right?

Anyway thanks for the info. My girlfriend works at a pharmacy so I'm going to see if she can just order it there.

Hey, this isn't entirely relevant but you mentioned that you teach. I play piano, got my abrsm grade 8 (same as an rcm 10 i think?)
I'd love to teach but I've not done much about it cos I'd be so shy and awkward starting out. Dunno how I'd manage a kinda authorative role. Just wondering how you went about it really.. any tips?

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